Sunday, December 29, 2013"We Look to the Family" – Francis Gives 2014 Centerpiece An Early Start

At the Noonday Angelus on this feast of the Holy Family, the Pope turned his sights to the New Year and his already-indicated focus for 2014 on the life of the family.

Of course, the centerpiece of the push is next October's Extraordinary Synod on the "pastoral challenges" facing the domestic church, the responses to the preliminary survey for which are due in Rome from the global episcopates by the end of January, and among the US bishops must be submitted to Washington by this Tuesday.

In addition, however, Francis said today that the family focus will figure at what's now apparently become a two-day consultation of the College of Cardinals in advance of the February 22nd Consistory that'll see Papa Bergoglio elevate his first batch of cardinals. (Current expectations have the biglietto of the cardinals-designate being announced on Epiphany Day, 6 January.)

2013-12-29 13:44:32 Pope Francis: refugees and the elderly are the outcasts of society

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday turned his attention to the dramatic predicament of migrants and refugees who not always find a welcome, but often become victims of human trafficking and slave labour.

Speaking to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus, the Pope said that on this first Sunday after Christmas, the liturgy invites us to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.

He said that the Gospel narrates the Holy Family’s painful exile as it searched for refuge in Egypt and said that Joseph, Mary and Jesus lived the dramatic condition of refugees, “marked by fear, uncertainty and difficulties”.

Unfortunately today – Pope Francis said – millions of families face this same sad reality. Almost every day the television and the newspapers offer news reports about refugees that “flee hunger, war and other grave dangers, and go in search of security and a dignified life for themselves and their families”.

The Head of the Vatican Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, said that Bishop Galantino will serve as interim Secretary General to replace Mariano Crociata who was named Bishop of Latina after two mandates at CEI.

Lombardi explained that the interim appointment was "rendered urgent for the regular work schedule of the general secretariat and for a number of procedures that require his presence."

He added that the duration of the mandate has not yet been decided. Lombardi also explained that Galantino will have to reside in Rome for part of the week but he remains Bishop of Cassano allo Jonio.

ROME, December 30, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Francis piqued the curiosity of many members of the faithful in his November 24th exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, when he said national bishops’ conferences should be granted “genuine doctrinal authority” as part of his effort to reform the papacy and decentralize authority in the Church.

The idea raised concern for many Catholics, including those active in the battle for life and family, who expressed misgivings about giving more authority to institutions that, in many countries, have often been used to undermine the Church’s teachings on life and family issues.

Now the Pope’s prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has weighed in on the issue. Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller says that while the conferences can exercise a certain doctrinal authority – in preparing local catechisms, for example – they exist to serve individual bishops and will never act as an intermediary between bishop and pope.

In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera published December 22nd, Archbishop Müller said there is no such thing as “national churches,” and the president of a bishops’ conference cannot be a “vice-pope.”

“Some interpret Evangelii Gaudium as if the Holy Father wants to promote a certain autonomy of the local churches, the tendency to distance themselves from Rome,” he said. “But this is not possible. Particularism, like centralism, is a heresy. It would be the first step towards autocephaly."

The papacy and the role of bishop are “by divine right, instituted by Christ,” but the bishops’ conference, he said, “both historically and today, belong only to the ecclesiastical law,” which he noted is a “human” creation.

“The presidents of the episcopal conferences, while important, are coordinators, nothing more, not vicepopes!” he said. “Each bishop has a direct and immediate relationship with the Pope.”

On Tuesday evening, December 31 at 5:00 p.m. local time in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis will preside at a celebration of Vespers (Evening prayer of the Church) that will include the singing of the Te Deum prayer.

The Te Deum, also sometimes called the Ambrosian Hymn because of its association with St. Ambrose, is a traditional hymn of joy and thanksgiving.

First attributed to Sts. Ambrose, Augustine, or Hilary, it is now accredited to Nicetas, Bishop of Remesiana; (4th century).

It is used at the conclusion of the Office of the Readings for the Liturgy of the Hours on Sundays outside Lent, daily during the Octaves of Christmas and Easter, and on Solemnities and Feast Days. It is often recited in thanksgiving on the last day of the year

After the evening Vespers, the Pope will make a brief visit to the life-sized Nativity scene below the obelisk in the center of St. Peter’s Square. This year’s scene, entitled “Francis 1223- Francis 2013” recalls the very first Nativity scene created 790 years ago by St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis’ namesake. The scene in St. Peter’s square this year was crafted by artisans from the southern Italian city of Naples, famous for its traditional Christmas displays.

On Wednesday January 1st in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Father will preside a morning liturgy marking the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Following the mass, at noon, Pope Francis will greet the faithful in St. Peter’s Square and together with them pray the Angelus.

(Vatican Radio) Vespers began at 5 PM Rome Time in St Peter’s Basilica, with Pope Francis presiding over the prayers that constitute the Church’s official, public praise of God in the evening of the last day of the year, to be followed by the singing of the great hymn of gratitude in faith, the Te Deum, and the worship of the Blessed Sacrament before the giving of the blessing of the Eucharistic Lord.

In his homily, Pope Francis focused on the sense of history that permeates the life of those whose lives are signed by faith in Jesus Christ. “The biblical and Christian vision of time and history,” he said, “is not cyclical, but linear: it is a path that leads towards a conclusion.” He explained that the passing year does not represent an end in itself, but a step on the way towards a reality that is to be completed – another step toward the goal that lies ahead of us: a place of hope and happiness, because we will meet God, the Reason of our hope and Source of our joy.----------------------http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMHLRKuMpeA

Celebration of the Vespers and the Te Deum

Streamed live on Dec 31, 2013 (En) Pope Francis presides over the First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and the "Te Deum" hymn thanksgiving for the past year.

(Vatican Radio) I wonder how my grandchildren will view the Year 2013? However they view it, they will probably do what I just did: run a web search for something like: “Highlights of 2013” (presuming web searches are still around when I no longer am). If they do, then this is what they might find in the 2013 Top Ten lists:

Clearly, future generations will have no choice but to associate the Year 2013 with the figure of Pope Francis. Hopefully, someone will remind them that behind every Pope there is another – and that were it not for the humble and heroic gesture of Benedict XVI who chose to resign from the Petrine ministry on February 28th 2013, there could be no Pope Francis. Coherence and Continuity are two of the key words that characterize the Catholic Church. I hope my grandchildren will still use them.

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano’s monthly insert “Women Church World” (Donna Chiesa Mondo) will be offering a series of articles focusing on the theology of women, beginning with its next edition January 2-3.

The series comes in response to Pope Francis’ repeated calls for a reexamination of the “theology of women” in the Church.

As editor Lucetta Scaraffia explains in a January editorial, each month a male or female theologian will analyze “this open question central to the Church today” as a means for “enriching…the discussion” about the contributions to and the role of women in the Church.

Italian theologian and writer Msgr Pierangelo Sequeri will be the first to author a piece in the series.

It was forced into issuing a denial after well-known Italian intellectual and atheist, Eugenio Scalfari, published an article entitled “Francis’ Revolution: He has abolished sin.”

The treatise-like piece followed a long, private conversation Scalfari and the Pope engaged in earlier in 2013, which he has since written about several times. In the latest article, Scalfari concluded that Francis believed sin effectively exists no longer because God’s forgiveness and mercy are “eternal”.

In a statement on Vatican Radio, Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, refuted “this affirmation that the pope has abolished sin,” saying: “Those who really follow the Pope daily know how many times he has spoken about sin and our (human) condition as sinners.”

The Vatican recently removed the transcribed text of Scalfari’s discussion with Pope Francis from its website, claiming parts of it were not reliable.

2014-01-01 10:58:36 Pope at January 1 Mass: Mary, Mother of God, Mother for all

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis welcomed the new year Wednesday with a solemn morning mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, calling the faithful to look to Mary as a Mother to all and messenger of hope.

In his homily for this, the Solemnity of the Mother of God, Pope Francis said “there is no more meaningful time than the beginning of a new year” to hear God’s blessing “The Lord bless you and keep you…. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

These "words of strength, courage and hope" "will accompany our journey through the year opening up before us,” the Pope said.

2014-01-01 12:48:08 Pope's New Year Angelus: build a world where enemies recognize themselves as brothers

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis offered New Year’s greetings of peace Wednesday to the tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square to recite with the Holy Father the Angelus prayer at the start of 2014.

The Pope said his wishes for the new year are “those of the Church:” Christian wishes that put Jesus Christ at the center of history and at its end: “the Kingdom of God, Kingdom of peace, justice, liberty in love.” And the Holy Spirit, the Holy Father said, is the force which propels us towards that end.

Recalling that on January first, the Church celebrates the feast of Mary, the Holy Mother of God as well as World Day of Peace, Pope Francis referred to his Message of Peace for the Day: ‘Fraternity: the Foundation and Pathway to Peace’ saying it stems from the conviction that we are “all children of one God and are part of the same human family,” sharing a common destiny.

We all have a responsibility, the Pope stressed, to build a world which “becomes a community of brothers who respect each other, accept each other’s differences, and take care of each other.”

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday afternoon visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome where he prayed in silence before the image of the Madonna Salus Populi Romani.

The private visit, which was not scheduled according to the Pope's official activity agenda, was witnessed and greeted with joy and surprise by the many faithful who were in the Basilica at the time.Today is the liturgical Feast of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and during his homily at Mass this morning, Pope Francis had explicitly made mention of this Basilica and of this particular Marian icon with the words "The truth of [Mary's] divine maternity found an echo in Rome where, a little later, the Basilica of Saint Mary Major was built, the first Marian shrine in Rome and in the entire West, in which the image of the Mother of God – the Theotokos – is venerated under the title of Salus Populi Romani".

(Vatican Radio) ‘Fraternity: the Foundation and Pathway to Peace’ – that’s the title of Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Peace celebrated on January 1, 2014. This year’s Message for the annual Day of Peace was unveiled at a Vatican press conference early in December and contains many of the themes that the Holy Father has been developing over the past nine months of his pontificate.

Reiterating many of the themes contained in previous Peace Day Messages, the document explores the biblical understanding of fraternity, beginning with the Genesis story of Cain, who murders his brother Abel and is held accountable by God for his action. In a similar way, we Christians, as children of the same God, will be held accountable for our actions towards our brothers and sisters who suffer from poverty, conflicts, trafficking or corruption which, the message says, strikes at the very heart of our human dignity.

Echoing the words of his predecessors, Pope Francis appeals to all those involved in the use of weapons to work instead for disarmament and dialogue, starting with the urgent need for an end to the use of nuclear and chemical weapons.

The message also condemns the many forms of corruption and organized crime, as well as financial speculation, the tragedy of migrants, inhuman prison conditions and what the Pope calls ‘the abomination of human trafficking’.

Finally the message speaks of fraternity in terms of our responsible stewardship of nature and the earth’s resources. Insisting once again that it is possible to provide enough food to eliminate hunger in our world, the Pope says we must overcome attitudes of possession, manipulation and exploitation to ensure justice, equality and an end to the scandal of people dying of hunger.

Below, we re-publish the Pope’s Message for the World Day of Peace 2014:

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis was scheduled to celebrate Mass on Friday morning at the Gesù, the mother-church of the Jesuits, to mark the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. The liturgy will also celebrate the entry last month of Peter Faber, SJ, into the list of saints.

“The Name of Jesus is the ‘title’ of the Order,” explained Fr. Giuseppe Bellucci, SJ, the director of the press office of the Society of Jesus in Rome. “Saint Ignatius wanted the Company he founded to be given the Name of Jesus. For us, then, this is the principle feast. That the Pope has selected this feast of Jesus to give thanks for this new saint, and to celebrate with the Jesuits, to us it seems extremely significant.”

Father Belluci said Pope Francis has expressed the desire to personally greet every Jesuit at the Mass.

2014-01-02 15:48:17 Over 6.6 million attend events led by Pope Francis in 2013

(Vatican Radio) Over 6.6 million people have attended events led by Pope Francis at the Vatican since his election in March.

Figures released by the Pontifical Household on Thursday are based on the number of tickets issued for papal events where they are needed, such as general audiences, Masses and private audiences.

A communiqué said they were also based on estimates of the number of people at events where tickets are not needed, such as the weekly Angelus or Regina Coeli or other celebrations in St. Peter’s Square.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Friday morning in the mother church of the Jesuit order, the church of the Gesù, to mark the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus and to give thanks for the enrollment of the first Jesuit to be ordained a priest, Fr Peter Faber SJ, in the list of the saints. Listen: RealAudioMP3

In his homily, Pope Francis spoke of the particular way in which the Jesuit Order is marked – and desires to be signed - by the name of Jesus: “To march,” he said, “beneath the standard of His Cross.” Pope Francis went on to explain that this means sharing in and having Christ’s very own sentiments. “It means,” he said, “to think like Him, to love like Him, to see [things the way He sees them], to walk like Him – it means doing what He did, and with the same sentiments He had, with the sentiments of His heart.”------------------http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-homily-at-mass-in-the-church-of-the-gesu

Pope Francis' Homily at Mass in the Church of the GesuVatican City, January 03, 2014

Here below is a translation of the Holy Father's homily given today during Mass of the Most Holy Name of Jesus at the church del Gesu in Rome.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has told those in Religious Life to “wake up the world”, according to an article appearing in La Civiltà Cattolica, the Rome-based Jesuit weekly.

Editor Antonio Spadaro, SJ, has written an article recounting the private meeting last November between Pope Francis and the Union of Superiors General of religious men at the end of their 82nd General Assembly.

The 15-page article (available in English at the La Civiltà Cattolica website) documents the views of Pope Francis on religious life.

“Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! It is possible to live differently in this world,” Pope Francis said. The article also revealed he has asked the Congregation for Religious to revise, Mutuae Relationes, the 1978 instruction issued by the Congregation for Religious and by the Congregation for Bishops (concerning the relations between bishops and religious in the Church, which he called “outdated.”---------------------------

Rome, Italy, Jan 3, 2014 / 09:29 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a recent interview with Corriere della Sera, the Vatican's head official on doctrinal matters discussed the importance of personal pastoral care for divorced re-married persons, while adhering to Church teaching.

“We must try a combination of general principles and particular, personal situations. Finding solutions to individual problems, though always on the foundation of Catholic doctrine,” Archbishop Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told Gian Guido Vecchi of the Italian daily in an interview published Dec. 22.

“You cannot adjust the doctrine to the circumstances: the Church is not a political party which does surveys to look for consent. A true, pastoral dialogue is necessary. There are different situations, which are to be evaluated in different ways.”

The archbishop's comments follow months of back-and-forth between himself and bishops from his native Germany who have suggested that divorced and remarried Catholics could receive Communion under certain circumstances.

In November, Archbishop Müller wrote a letter to the emeritus archbishop of Freiburg clarifying that “no pastoral directions are sanctioned which are in opposition to Church teaching,” and he had made the same point in an essay published at L'Osservatore Romano the preceding month.

In his Corriere della Sera interview, the archbishop explained, “the truth is that we cannot clarify these situations with a general statement. On those divorced and civilly remarried, many think the Pope or a synod can say: of course, receive Communion. But this is not possible.”

He added that this is because a “valid, sacramental marriage is indissoluble: this is the Catholic practice, reaffirmed by Popes and Councils, in fidelity to the Words of Jesus. And the Church has not the authority to relativize the Words and Commandments of God.”

Archbishop Müller added that while the sacraments have a “medicinal aspect” and are not restricted to “the perfect,” an irregular marriage is an “objective obstacle to receiving the Eucharist.” This is “not a punishment” and the bar on divorced and re-married persons receiving Communion does not keep them from attending Mass.

He affirmed that annulments can be granted, adding that in many places, Christian tradition “has lost its meaning” and there is a “total confusion” about who man is and what is his purpose and dignity.

The archbishop also discussed Church structures in the wake of Pope Francis' Nov. 24 apostolic exhortation “Evangelii gaudium”, in which he discussed a “conversion of the papacy” and suggested that bishops' conferences could be given a greater role, including “genuine doctrinal authority.”

This is one area I deeply disagree.Communion is between the Lord and the partaker and IMO should not be denied to anyone who seeks it in earnest.We are all sinners and have fallen short, not just in marriage vows but in other covenants with God. JMO